Peeta's a happy guy
by Mrs. Amelia Hawthorne
Summary: Peeta's had enough of his miserable existence. What happens when he decides to do something about it?
1. Chapter 1

Few things, I own nothing of course.

Later on in the story I mention a leather jacket and boots.

I want you to think of these:

Jacket- .com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_00000000000000003850000000411-170027-BLKP?prdNo=5&blockNo=5&blockType=G5

Boots- .com/tag/irit-black-womens-dress-shoe/

On with the story!

"I'm leaving," I say and everybody in the room turns to me. I'd been stuck in 13 for months now. I couldn't deal with it anymore. They'd all been lying to me, only inviting me into their secret meetings when the plans weren't secret at all. Nobody respected me and all I did for this country.

Nobody cared that I killed more people for this war than everybody in this room combined, my personal death total was 37, 38 if you chose to include Foxface. Nobody cared that I saved all the people held hostage by the Capital and fought off a small army of Peacekeepers to make it happen. I singlehandedly removed any leverage the Capital had over us, thus making it a very quick war to end. Nobody cared about that though. They saw me as weak, I was just some fucked up loser that everybody lied to.

"But…" Katniss starts. "You can't leave. I won't let you."

"Let me Katniss? You're not going to let me leave. You're a bitch. I'm leaving whether any of you like it or not. I'm leaving this place. I'm leaving this bullshit existence and most of all Katniss. I'm leaving you." I say. I take one last look at her and turn my back, before she falls apart right in front of me. I honestly didn't care if she fell apart or not, but I didn't want to see it.

I picked up my bags and walked out, slamming the door behind me. The others weren't guilty of much more than keeping me out of the loop and not giving me the respect I felt like I deserved but I'd really had enough of her lies. She's betrayed me every step of the way. It wasn't until about a month ago when Haymitch slipped up and mentioned that she'd been in on the rebel plan all along. That she knew every single last detail of it and hid it all from me. It wasn't all she hid from me either. She'd been screwing Gale since we returned from the first Games all the while cooing in my ear about how much she loved me. Yes, she'd said it. She'd said she loved me and at first it was the greatest thing I've ever heard but the more she said it the more suspicious I got. When the reaping took place for the Quell she'd spent the previous night with Gale. No doubt saying Good bye all night. During the training for the Quell I started hearing whispers amongst the other tributes that she'd been seen entering Finnick's room dressed in nothing but a little nightie. I didn't turn a deaf ear to this. I was falling out of love with her and damn I was grateful. I couldn't even look at her anymore but still she'd prance up to me as if she's a loving girlfriend and peck me on the lips. She thought she was fooling me, I could see the humor in her eyes. She felt no remorse for it either. She thought she had me twisted around her little finger and I just couldn't deal with it anymore. It was time to move on, find somewhere that I could settle down and do something with myself.

I wasn't going to be the weak loser they portrayed me to be. I walked to the front of the train station and reached into my pocket and made sure I still had the train ticket I'd bought earlier. Yup, it was still there. I hike up my bag, hand the man my ticket and he looks at it quickly and opens the door to me and leads me to my room. I'd gotten a ticket for a luxury train that ran at about 60 miles per hour so the train ride to district 2 where I was planning on going would take about a week. I planned it this way because I wanted to take the time to sleep and relax. I wanted to drink all night in the privacy of the train and maybe, hopefully meet someone.

I drop my bag on the floor and survey the room quickly, there's a queen sized plush bed in the middle of the large room, with nightstands on both sides. Nothing remarkable but it'll do. It also had a smaller living area, with a couch and two chairs, a big screen TV and a small kitchenette. I went into the bathroom and showered. When I was finished I stepped out and got dressed in some simple black pants and a blue shirt, I brushed my teeth and fixed my hair and left. I spent a couple days walking around the train, stopping in the library a few times, fiddling with books. I wasn't in the mood to read. When we stopped in district 11 for fuel and to fix a mechanical problem I spent a few hours at the market buying fresh fruits and on my way back to the train on the platform I saw her.

She was absolutely the most beautiful girl I've ever seen. Her hair was chocolate brown and she wore it straight, but light curls at the ends, her porcelain skin was flawless and she had big blue eyes the color of the ocean in the west. Her body was fantastic, with curves to die for and legs that went on for miles. She was wearing a black leather jacket, a tight white v-neck shirt and tight black pants tucking into a pair of riding boots. She was saying goodbye to her family and grabbing a large duffle bag and hiking it up over her shoulder. I watched for a few more seconds as she climbed the steps to the platform and looked back at her family. When she turned to board the train I quickly went back to my room.

A few hours later, I was leaving my room to go get something to eat when the door in front of me opens she steps out. She quickly locks the door and looks up. She sees me and at first there's confusion in her eyes, then a sense of recognition when she realizes who I am. Everybody does that when they first meet me.

"You're Peeta Mellark aren't you?"

"Yes," I answer.

She stands there in awe for a second.

"Hi, I'm Bella," she says as she composes herself and reaches out to shake my hand. "Looks like we're going to be neighbors for a few days."

"Looks like it," I take her hand and the second our skin touches a jolt of electricity runs through my veins. I know she felt it too because she shuddered slightly and when she pulled her fingers away, she lifted them to her lips and traced her lips gently.

It was the hottest thing I'd ever seen.

She suddenly turns on her heel and begins walking away, moving her hips just slightly. She looks back over her shoulder and says "come on neighbor, let's go get some dinner."

That night we talked all night. She told me everything about herself, she had 3 little brothers. She'd just landed a meeting with District 2 banks and loan officers. She was going to open a dance studio if they agreed to the terms. She told me how when she watched the 74th games she was rooting for me the entire time, and when the rules changed she cheered with the rest of her family, all of them in love with Katniss and I. then she told me how she started seeing footage afterwards of how Katniss had been sneaking around town on me and it just disgusted her. How could someone treat someone as noble as me like that? It had made her so angry. She had started to hate Katniss after the Quell when I'd been taken hostage and they left me and 11 other people that were beneficial to the cause to be tortured to death in the Capital.

After she finished her anti-Katniss rant she looked at me sheepishly and apologized.

"I'm sorry Peeta; I know you have a thing for her. If I was lucky enough to get a guy like you to love me I'd never let that go, never in a million years, you gave up everything for her and she just treated you like dirt."

"I know, that's why I left her."

"You… what?"

"I left her. I left all of them. I couldn't deal with it anymore."

"Deal with what?"

"Everything you just said. All of it. How they left me behind and can't even give me any respect for breaking out. I sacrificed everything for them and they just left me to die like that. It's bullshit and I'm not going to deal with it anymore."

I was upset now. I hadn't really said any of this out loud before. They'd always just been thoughts in my head and now, to express them out loud, with someone that completely agrees with me makes me see just how much they've really done to me.

Bella gets out of the chair across from me and comes close to me. She kneels down in front of me and pulls me into her arms. At this contact I break down. I hadn't cried since the day of the reaping and now, everything was letting itself out.

I finally stop.

"You haven't cried yet have you?" she questions as she sits on the couch next to me and holds me close.

"No, not since the day of the first reaping."

"Why?" she asks. "Everybody needs to cry sometimes."

"I guess I just needed someone's shoulder to cry on," giving her a weak smile.

She smiles brightly at me and cups my face in her hands. She leans forward and kisses me gently.

"Peeta. I have a confession to make."

"What's that?"

"I think I've been in love with you since the first time I saw you on that stage, before the 1st games." She says as she pulls away from me. She stands in front of me, looking slightly embarrassed. "I know you barely know me and I know that's something that is just completely out of left field but I had to say it. I'm sorry."

She stands and waits for me to respond. I just stare into space for a second. This beautiful girl, whom I just told everything too just said she loved me. Everything about her made me want her, her sweet voice and the way she smelled, like vanilla. She starts to back away embarrass and I can't let her. I jump up and grab her and kiss her. As soon as our lips meet her arms throw themselves around my shoulders as I yank her by the waist to me.


	2. Chapter 2

I own nothing. :(. i'd like to own Peeta though. Haymitch is right, Katniss doesn't deserve him. He's much more deadly than she. Just think about it, really from the books, He kills in close combat situations, not like Katniss who is a safe distance away from whoever it is she's shooting at. The times he's killed he's used what? Yes, a knife or bare hands (we don't ever find out how he kills anyone, just that he does). Close combat, much more lethal and primal. He's the true killer in this story. I never really liked how in the book he appeared weak to her. He's not weak. He's the true face of the rebellion.

This is only chapter 2. You'll see a surprise i bet you didn't see coming. It gets more... what it is. I don't want to spoil it. Future chapters offer something more dramatic. read on.

p.s. this story is mostly for me, just because i've been sitting at my computer typing away at this for days now. it'll end when it ends. if you like it comment. if you don't... ok.

By the way, Peeta is still Daniel Jacob (from my other story) but for Bella I want you to think of Wichita from Zombieland. go look it up at IMDB if you don't know who i'm talking about.

2 year later…

Katniss's POV

I woke up early in the morning. Gale was still lying next to me, naked. I couldn't sleep anymore. The dreams were getting more and more rampant and I dreamt about it every night. I wondered how he was doing, if he was even still alive. I didn't know. Nobody had seen or heard from him in over a year. Last I heard he'd met some girl. Haymitch had a picture of them hanging on his fridge, it was the last known picture of him and the girl was _beautiful. _ I hated her, she looked so gorgeous and happy, it was a beautiful picture, taken on a beach in the west, she was wearing a white bikini, looking perfect and he had obviously had a body scrub done, because there was only one scar left on his body, just about his right hip. They looked so happy. He was supposed to be miserable here, but instead, he found some gorgeous girl that had a body to die for and fell in love with her. Screw him and that pretty girl.

I struggled out of bed and made my way to the kitchen. I needed some coffee. I sat at the table, thinking about him while my coffee brewed. It was almost done when I finally got up and went to the coffee maker and poured myself a cup. I heard Gale coming down the stairs, one step at a time. I got up and retrieved a coffee mug for him as well and wondered if I should cook breakfast for him. He'd worked all day yesterday and had the same schedule today.

Gale came into the kitchen and barely looked at me. He took the coffee cup and stood at the kitchen sink as he sipped his coffee. He stared out the window and I wondered what he was looking at.

"Katniss come here," he said as he stepped away from the window. I approached the window. There were lights on in Peeta's house.

"When was the last time he was home?" Gale questioned.

"Almost a year ago, there shouldn't be someone there. He would have come to say hi if he came home right?"

"I don't know Katniss; he seemed pretty pissed when he left."

"Well who's in his house then?"

"I don't know I should go check though. I wouldn't want him to find out someone's been in his house and nobody did anything about it."

"I've got to go Gale, my train leaves in about an hour. I'll see you later."

Gale nodded and went to the hall closet and put on a jacket. He stepped outside and walked the short distance to Peeta's home. I watched as he walked up the steps and gingerly knocked at the door. A few minutes went by and nobody came to the door. He knocked again. Still nothing. I watched as he tried the doorknob, and the door instantly swung wide open. He looked back at me as if asking permission and stepped inside.

Gale's POV

I stepped inside the house I've never been inside. It was identical to Katniss's house except everything had been unused for at least 2 years. I looked around and saw nothing except for a light on in the kitchen. I made my way to the kitchen and as I stepped inside the most beautiful girl I'd ever seen was standing at the stove cooking some eggs. She was about 5'7" with long dark chocolate brown hair with bangs and wisps of hair that fell out of her ponytail. Her eyes were the color of the ocean I'd only seen once in the west. She was gorgeous.

When she saw me she screamed and grabbed a knife and slammed herself against the counter. She looked terrified.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What are YOU doing here?" she yelled back. She wielded the knife in front of her as if scared for her life.

I put my hands up and took two steps back. I didn't want to scare her but I had to find out why she was in Peeta's house.

"I was just checking to see why there's someone in Peeta's house. Katniss said she hadn't heard anything about him coming home, we were concerned when we saw lights on."

"Oh, you must be gale then." She said lowering the knife. "Would you like some breakfast? Peeta should be down soon, he was showering. Hopefully he didn't hear me scream."

"Umm, sure, is that bacon?"

"Yes, do you like it?"

"I don't know I've never had bacon before. It smells really good though." I said as she handed me a plate with scrambled eggs with cheese and a few strips of bacon. The toaster went off and she reached for the hot toast, I guess forgetting that it was hot and played hot potato for a second before tossing it onto a plate and putting it on the table.

"I'll be right back, enjoy the breakfast I'm going to make sure Peeta knows you're here." as she poured me a cup of coffee.

"Sounds like a good idea; he and I don't get along to well."

"You know he's never said much about you. He said he couldn't stand most of the people here but always said you were OK. That you couldn't help the way things worked out."

"Really?" I asked surprised. I thought he hated me.

"Yes. He said you were the only one that ever gave him even an inkling of respect for what he did."

"Bella?" I heard Peeta yell from upstairs. "Is someone down there with you?"

"Yes." She yelled back and quickly departed the kitchen and I heard her run up the stairs.

Peeta's POV

I got out of the shower and heard whispers from downstairs. Bella was talking to someone and I couldn't quite figure out whom. I wasn't surprised that someone was over this early in the morning. I knew once they saw I was home they'd be over a lot, trying to act like nothing ever happened between all of us. I didn't really care, I'd moved on. I had a great career and an even better woman by my side now. I could handle it all now.

I quickly dressed and yelled down to her. I heard a muffled response then the sound of her bare feet running up the stairs.

Bella bounded into our bedroom and said "Gale's downstairs eating breakfast, I hope you don't mind. He saw the lights on and wanted to make sure everything was OK."

"Gale's downstairs?"

"Yes," she answered.

"And he came to check if something was wrong when he saw the lights on?"

"Yes," she answered again.

"Well that was nice of him."

"I agree. Come say hi. Your breakfast is getting cold," she said as she left the room and went back downstairs.

I pulled my boots on and went downstairs, half dreading seeing Gale in my kitchen.

Bella had fixed two plates of eggs, bacon and toast and was sitting down at the table with Gale when I walked into the kitchen.

Gale instantly jumped out of his chair and looked kind of scared to see me.

"Hello Gale, it's nice to see you," I began the pleasantries. "Relax, enjoy your breakfast, Bella makes the best eggs."

"Thank you Peeta. It's nice to see you too. I'm sorry to come over this early. We saw lights on in the house; I just wanted to make sure everything was ok. It looks like you're doing great."

"Thanks, I appreciate you caring enough to come check it out." I answered.

"You're welcome, Bella is it? These eggs really are excellent, what do you put in them?"

"A little of this, a little of that." Bella answered.

"So how's life been in 12 since I left?" I ask Gale.

He thought for a second. "We all missed you."

"Really?"

"Yes, I guess you don't really notice how much you need something around until it's gone. I think everybody felt bad about treating you so badly. Just wait until everybody finds out you're here. They'll probably throw some kind of crazy party for you."

I smiled and Bella laughed. She seemed amused.

"I should go," Gale continued getting up to leave. "I've got to go to work."

"See you later Gale, you're welcome back anytime." Bella said and I agreed.

Gale was a good guy; it wasn't his fault Katniss chose to cheat on me with him. He did what any other guy in the world would have if he were in the same position. Suddenly I felt the need to tell him that.

"Gale wait up for a second." I said as I pulled myself out of my chair.

Gale stopped at the door and when I caught up with him he walked out the door.

"You're going to kill me now, now that that beautiful woman isn't watching?"

I laughed, imagining the fear he must have for me. No doubt he'd watched every kill in the Games and afterwards. He had a strange kind of respect for me. Almost fearful.

"No I'm not going to kill you," I said shuffling on my feet, suddenly I was nervous and he seemed to sense it.

"What's up Peeta?" he asked me scooting just one tiny step away.

"Look, whatever happened between the two of us, whatever was said last year and anytime before that is just water under the bridge. I'm not saying we'll be the best of friends ever but I wouldn't mind if we did become friends. Everything that happened in the past brought me to Bella and I wouldn't give her up for anything in the world."

"I understand, and I'm sorry. I never meant for any of that to happen. I just couldn't help myself when it comes to Katniss." He said looking at his shoes.

"It's ok. Really it is."

"Listen, Bella and I are going to be busy most of the day but why don't the two of you stop by tonight, we could catch up. Just please don't invite Haymitch over. I'm not quite ready to speak with him."

"Sure, I'd love to. Katniss is gone for about a week and Haymitch is probably too hung over to even notice anything is different over here. I'd love to come over though."

"Great," I said. "I'll see you later."

Gale headed off back to Katniss's house and I went back inside.

Bella was cleaning up the kitchen when I walked in and wrapped my arms around her tiny waist.

"Need help?" I asked.

"No not really I'm almost done. Did you and Gale have a good chat?"

"Yes, I invited him for dinner tonight."

"That's good. I'll have to stop by the market sometime today," Bella said as she spun around. She kissed me lightly on the lips. "I'm going to go shower, wait for me ok?"

"Always."

Bella quickly showered and dressed and we spent the day out and around town. I was impressed by all the new buildings and changes they'd been making. I spotted Gale at a construction site wearing a hardhat and holding blueprints. He must be the new foreman. That was great.

Bella and I went to the market and got supplies for the week and headed home where she instantly began cooking up a huge dinner of turkey and stuffing with green bean casserole and sweet potato casserole. I questioned her meal choice but she just shrugged and said she felt like giving thanks.

I didn't bother her anymore after that. Gale showed up promptly at 7pm clean and changed carrying a bottle of wine that Bella graciously took and popped the cork out of and overfilled all of our glasses. Dinner conversation was delightful. Bella and Gale got along great and I was surprised how much I enjoyed Gale's company. He was actually a pretty cool guy.

Bella told a hilarious story about the first time she attempted to throw axes and Gale laughed so hard he almost fell out of his chair. In return Gale told a story about one day when he was little he decided it was a good idea to climb to the top of very jagged rocks with no shoes on and when he went tumbling down he was so badly injured that he laid at the bottom of the rocks for almost a whole day, attempting to catch his breath until someone finally found him. Luckily he hadn't broken any bones, just badly bruised his entire body.

I chatted along with the two of them. Neither one of them even touched the subject of what I did in the war, which I was grateful for. Both knew exactly who I was and what happened before, during and after the war and there wasn't much point and rehashing old, painful and destructive memories.

I didn't regret those days; they made me the strong man I am today. This woman wouldn't love me if I hadn't been chosen as tribute on that fateful reaping day. If things hadn't happened they way they had Bella, Gale and I wouldn't be sitting by the fire in my immense living room, making roasted treats Bella called smores and steadily getting drunker. I even considered inviting Haymitch over after the alcohol started to take affect.

Gale was a fantastic guest and offered to help Bella clean up but she refused his help and left the two of us in the living room reminding us to play nice. She even called us children.

When Bella left to clean up the kitchen, Gale turned to me.

"Where'd you meet her?" Gale asked me.

"I first saw her in 11. She was absolutely the most beautiful person I've ever seen; she boarded the train and ended up in the room right next to mine. We ran into each other that first night and have been together ever since. She dances. She was going to 2 to negotiate loans to start a dance company. They took almost a year to decide but finally gave her the go ahead to start 4 dance studios. She chose to open one in Capital Main, 2, 11, and we're looking into a spot here." I finished the rest of my wine. "So here we are."

Gale was silently studying me. He seemed in awe.

"You boys want something to drink?" Bella sang from the kitchen. "I think I saw some kind of liquor in the basement yesterday."

"Oh no, I'm already so drunk I'll be surprised if I make it home." Gale said. "I really should get going; I've got to get to bed."

Bella walked into the living room and smiled at Gale. "Well it was nice having you over. Please don't hesitate to come over again."

"Yes Gale, it's been nice having you over. Come over whenever you feel like it." I say as I struggle up. Gale reaches out and takes my hand and pulls me to my feet.

"It's been nice Peeta, Thanks." He shakes my hand. He turns to Bella and goes to shake her hand but she pulls her hand away and gently taps her cheek. He laughs and leans in and gives her a tiny kiss on the cheek. "Dinner was delicious. You got a good woman here Peeta, never let her go."

"I never will." I say as Gale backs out the door. He smiles to himself at the threshold and shakes his head.

"By the way Peeta, I'm glad you're back."

"Me too, Gale."

Gale nods and almost falls off the stairs.

We watched as Gale safely retreated to his home and closed the door behind him.

Bella shoved my inside, obviously less drunk than I was and closed the door behind me. She turned to me and threw her arms around me. I hugged her tightly, holding her close to my body and taking in the smells of chocolate and wine that still dazzled her skin. I loved her so much it was ridiculous.

She let go of me and slowly walked up the stairs, stripping off her clothes piece by piece on the way up. God she was beautiful. She reached the top of the stairs and looked back over her shoulder and winked at me.

"Come tuck me in." she breathes. I'm up the stairs in seconds wrapping my arms around her waist as we slam into the bedroom door; she slips her tongue into my mouth as she fumbles for the door knob and shoves the door open.

As soon as the door opens I'm pushing her deeper into the dark room, shoving her hard against the bed. She growls at me, hastily unbuttoning my shirt and yanking it off. I struggle to unbutton my pants and she uses her feet to shove them off.

I lowered myself on top of her and let my lips graze her skin, tasting her skin. She reaches up and pulls my entire body toward her and slips her tongue into my mouth. She gently massages my tongue with her own and I shiver at the contact. She's always been excellent at this.

Bella's POV

Peeta was beautiful in ways that I couldn't describe. He kissed my neck and sent shivers down my body. I felt his tip rub across me and I instinctively lifted my hips to meet his and he gently slid into me.

We were both drunk and I could tell that every movement he made sent him closer and closer to the edge. He slowed it down, sliding in and out of me at a slow pace. I could feel every inch of him and it felt _amazing_. He keeps going for a few minutes, and then I flip us over and settled down on top of him. My hands find his chest as his hands move to my hips holding them gently.

I smoothly move on top of him, in and out in and out until he's hands grip my hips tightly forcing himself deeper inside me. The pace quickens and now I've rocking on him hitting my wonderful g spot. I open my eyes, wanting to see him but his eyes are closed and his face is red and I think he was holding his breath a little; I rock harder against him, listening as he moans my name.

Bella.

He suddenly sits up and wraps his arms around me, catching my lips and shoving me harder down on top of him, my hands find his hair and now I'm moving at a pace I can't sustain for long and he pulls away from my mouth and kisses my neck and the sensation is too much and I throw my head back and scream his name. This gets a rise out of him and he flips us once more, masterfully raping my skin and ravishing my insides.

It felt amazing and suddenly I was having an orgasm and he feels the muscles shrink then explode and he burst out inside me. He falls against me, pants for a few long seconds as I hold him tight against me, and then rolls off me, allowing my lungs a sweet full breath of air.

"I love you Bella," he says.

Even though it's probably the millionth time he's said it, it still makes my insides like jelly and I whisper, "I love you too."


	3. Chapter 3

To all my faithful readers:

I've not given up on these my stories, I've been having problems updating. I've written quite a bit for one (Peeta's a happy guy) then I've gotten stumped with the other one (Teenage Dream) I'm open to suggestions for Teenage Dream.

Anyway I've got some exciting news that I'm sure all of you would love.

I'm working on an original story. Original characters, different scenarios and that's right, what I'm best at, writing those lovely sex scenes.

I'm about ½ way done with it, before I rip it apart and completely rewrite everything due to the edits I'm imposing on myself. Hopefully one day in the future (a couple years at least) you'll be seeing my book on the book shelf with one of those pretty 'Best Seller' stickers on it.

I'll give you one hint so when you do pick up my book (because I know you will if it ever does get published) you'll be like 'hey I used to read her fanfics about The Hunger Games'.

I'm going to make it difficult for you though, you'll have to do some research to figure this out… unless you're some kind of super human computer that remembers EVERYTHING…

Are you ready?

Here we go:

My main character (who is female) is named after a man, who was born on February 6, 1911 and died on June 5th 2004. His wife mourned his loss with the rest of the country. He moved to Iowa to become a radio personality and after that moved to LA, California in 1937 to become an actor. He became a leader in our country, that you're parents probably remember very well…. If you need anymore clues, let me know. If you know exactly who I'm talking about please send me a PM but don't leave a review stating who I've mentioned here today.


	4. Chapter 4

The rest of the week went much like this. Every morning Gale would get up and come over for breakfast. Bella would make a very large delicious meal while Gale and I ate and we eventually had to shoo her off to get ready for the day while we cleaned up the kitchen. Our days were spent with Bella and me walking around town, trying to find the perfect location for her dance studio.

Late one night, Gale had fallen asleep on the couch and Bella was covering him with a blanket when we heard a door slam from the direction of Katniss's house. I walked outside and stood on my porch as one by one each light in the house turned on. Katniss was home. Bella came outside after covering Gale with the blanket and stood with me and watched as Katniss searched the entire house for Gale. She didn't find him of course and instead of looking panicked she looked relieved. I saw her walk to the back door of the house and let someone in. It was some guy I've never seen before and Bella and I watch as she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him. Then the two of them disappeared from our vision and lights slowly turned off.

We stood in silence for at least 20 minutes as every light in the house turned off except the bedroom light and we could see shadows dancing across the blinded windows. I think anybody who knew anything could tell exactly what they were doing.

"Oh my God," Bella said. She pulled her fingers up to her lips as if she wanted to keep something in. "Oh my God Peeta, what are we going to do?"

"I think we should tell him." I state. I knew it would be hard to tell him something and I knew he might not even believe me. Maybe he'd think I was still mad or something. I wasn't mad at him at all. He was an awesome guy and I really liked having him around. It seemed like now with this recent turn of events he'd be around much more often.

"I'll tell him, you just stand there, and he might think you're lying." Bella said as she pulled me back into the house. She slowly walked into the living room, clutching my hand tightly. She was scared of his reaction but she released my hand and gently woke him up.

Once Gale realized where he was he instantly shot off the couch apologizing for falling asleep.

Bella silenced him at once, putting one hand up with a very serious look on her face.

Gale instantly knew something was up, "what happened?" he asked.

"Katniss is home," Bella said.

Gale instantly looked excited; he started to get off the couch.

Bella silenced him one again and said "she's not alone."

Gale sat silently processing what he just heard.

"What do you mean she's not alone?"

"I mean she's not alone. She's got some guy up there."

Gale stays silent for a few minutes. Then he jumps up and runs out of the house and Bella and I barely reach the front porch before Gale slams into the house and we can hear him yelling.

The lights in the bedroom change and we can see a silhouette of Katniss and that guy as Gale barges into the room and starts screaming at them. Katniss screams back and I don't understand a word their saying but it's obviously bad. We watch as shadow Gale shoves the other guy away from the dresser and begins rummaging through it. Bella pulls on my arm and I regretfully walk away from my new friends' terrible ordeal.

Bella and I go back inside and she goes straight to the kitchen and pours 3 glasses of whiskey and hands one to me. Gale suddenly barges in through the door and Bella instantly hands a glass over to him and then hands one to me.

"Need a place to stay?" Bella offers.

"Yes," Gale gruffs into his whiskey.

"Peeta, why don't you show him to the guestroom. That is if you don't mind."

I stay silent, leaning against the door frame leading into the kitchen.

"I don't mind." I say as I grab Gale's one small bag and walk away. Holding the glass in my left and carrying his bag in my right I head up the stairs and I can hear Gale's boots walking up the stairs slowly after me.

Gale walks into his new bedroom and looks around. He looks like he wants to cry a little bit. I didn't see any pain in his eyes, just anger and hatred. I decide to leave him to his emotions.

I go back downstairs and see Bella standing at the kitchen sink staring out the window at Katniss's house.

"I hate her Peeta." She says.

"I think everyone in this house does now."

She nods. "I'm going to bed." She turns sharply and heads up to our bedroom.

I decide to stay downstairs for a little while; I sip on my whiskey and stare out the window. The bedroom light suddenly turns off and I know Katniss has called it a night.

Bella's POV

I was upset for both Peeta and Gale. I can't believe that bitch would do something so horrible and act like she had a right too. I walk up the stairs slowly, attempting to collect my thoughts. I have to go check on Gale. We'd all gotten really close over the last week and I genuinely cared about him and I'm positive Peeta did too. Neither one of us wanted to see him hurt. Now that good for nothing whore hurt him.

I knock on his door quietly. I hear some shuffling and then something slamming to the ground loudly.

"Gale, are you OK?" I ask.

Peeta must have heard the same thing I did because an instant later he was by my side.

Gale suddenly opens the door and looks out. I can see blood on his hands and he's struggling to keep it from dripping on the ground.

"Yes, I'm fine, I broke a lamp though, I'm sorry."

"No worries Gale, I didn't like that lamp anyway." Peeta said. "Bella. Go grab the first aide kit."

I instantly take orders and run off into our bedroom and retrieve the first aide kit from our bathroom. I return to Gale's room and see him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands trying not to get blood everywhere. Peeta walked back into the room and quickly swept up the shards of porcelain that scattered on the floor. I sat down next to Gale and took his hand into mine and cleaned his cuts and bandaged them. He didn't seem like he wanted to talk to me. That was OK. After I was done fixing the last little bit of tape to his bandage, I gave him a kiss on his forehead and stood up. I walked over to where Peeta was standing against the wall and gave him a gentle kiss on the lips and left the room.

I went to our bedroom and shut the door and waited.

Gale's POV

"I can't believe she did that. What a whore. I always kind of expected it to happen though. I'm not at all surprised." I said to Peeta when I heard Bella shut the door to their bedroom.

"I'm sorry Gale," Peeta said.

"You have nothing to apologize for."

We stayed silent for what seemed like hours.

"You can stay here as long as you want, we have plenty of room and we love having you over." Peeta said as he shuffled on his feet. I could tell he was anxious to leave. A man should deal with this on his own.

"Thank you Peeta," I say and he nods and leaves the room, closing the door behind him.

I hear the door to their bedroom open and instantly hear Bella's voice yelling obscenities about Katniss. I smile to myself. Bella's a good woman, much better than Katniss. She hardly knew me and didn't know Katniss at all but still found enough anger to yell.

I rolled myself into a cocoon and went to sleep. Tomorrow was going to suck, I'd have to get the rest of my stuff out of Katniss's house, at least it was Sunday and I didn't have to work. I notice that the sheets smell like vanilla as I drift off to sleep.

Bella's POV:

I couldn't sleep anymore. I roll over and take a look at Peeta; he was passed out next to me, sleeping peacefully with a silly little smile on his face. I leaned down and kissed the tip of his nose and he stirs but falls back into a deep slumber. I struggle out of bed and leave the room. I feel the need to check on Gale so I open his door and pop my head in. He too is sleeping peacefully, a strange look of relief on his face. Maybe he was subconsciously glad for what happened the previous night.

I shut the door and head back into our bedroom where Peeta still slumbers and dig through the closet for the bag that Peeta knows is there, but won't touch. I pull it out, cringing when the metal inside clanks and dart a look over my shoulder at Peeta who stirs but remains sleeping. I hike up the bag and leave the bedroom as quietly as possible.

I trek down to the basement and gently put the bag down. It's almost 7am and the boys would be up sooner rather than later so I hastily get up and go into the kitchen and start a pot of coffee for them. Gale likes his coffee black while Peeta likes it with cream and sugar so I pull the cream to the front of the fridge and set out coffee cups for them. I'm sure they'd be ok with just coffee for awhile.

I head back downstairs into the cold dark basement and sit down next to my bag. I unzip it slowly and start pulling out weapons one by one. Every time I did this I felt the need to inventory my collection even though the numbers never change. I spread them out and look at them each carefully. Of course they were all in perfect condition. I felt the need to touch them all, sharpen all my knives and straighten all the feathers for my cross bow. I take a sharpening block out of the side pocket of the bag and slowly begin sharpening my knives.

I'd started collecting weapons after things started to get kind of scary in 11. I didn't know why I did it and when I was there, before the Games Peeta was in and before the rebellion I would spend my sleepless nights cleaning the weapons and once dawn broke I'd hide them in a panel at the bottom of my closet. It was so camouflaged by shoes and clothes that nobody ever even knew it was there. Nobody knew I had the weapons or where they came from. Once people started finding out about the weapons, well after the Games they still didn't ask where they came from. At some point I started practicing in the middle of the night. Something told me that something was going to happen soon and I needed to be prepared. I'd mastered everything, using only my own judgment and own knowledge to teach myself. Slowly I'd started pulling friends into the deal one by one, giving them a weapon and teaching them how to use it. They sure came in handy when the rebellion took hold of all of us in 11. Peacekeepers were everywhere and anybody without a weapon was slaughtered. I armed my small group of friends with what I had which at the time was more than what I currently have. Several of those friends died but we managed to hold the small house that all of the children whose parents died by the Peacekeepers hands were now hiding out in. Afterwards, when all the fighting was done, we slowly started placing those orphaned children with other families with children their age. They all seemed happy. That was good. I was a hero in 11. Just like Peeta was a hero in the entire country. My small feat was nothing compared to what Peeta did though. He'd be proud of me but for now, when I got like this he'd just bring me down something to drink and leave me alone. Maybe it was time to tell him…

Peeta's POV

I wake up to an empty bed, Bella's side is cold, and she hasn't been in bed for a while. I look at the alarm clock and see that it's just past 7 in the morning. I could smell coffee brewing. I get out of bed and go straight to the bathroom. I shower, shaved and dressed and went downstairs. I poured myself a cup of the freshly brewed coffee, when Gales appears at the kitchen door looking like he rolled out of bed and came straight downstairs.

"Morning Gale," I say as I hand him a full cup of black coffee.

"Morning," Gale said. "Where's Bells?"

"She's downstairs, probably. Are you hungry? I'll make some breakfast."

"Not really, I'm hung over. My stomach is on a rollercoaster ride right now."

I laughed and refilled his coffee. I grabbed a coffee cup from the cabinet and filled it up and poured some cream in it until it was the perfect color and put the traditional 3 teaspoons of sugar and stirred it up.

"I've got to go check on Bella."

Gale nods and sits at the table and sips his coffee.

I go downstairs to the basement and see Bella sitting on the ground surrounded by weapons. I sit on the ground with her and hand over her coffee. She gratefully takes it and sips on it.

"Is Gale up?" she asks. She's genuinely concerned. It makes her more beautiful.

"Yes."

"He ok?"

"Seems like it. He's in the kitchen." She nodded. She carefully started gathering all of her weapons and placed them one by one back into the bag. "Are you hungry?" I ask as she continues packing away her things.

"I'm getting there. Pancakes sound really good right now." She states, not looking up from her bag.

"Sure, I'll go get them started." I say as I turn to leave.

Bella's POV

I get this sudden feeling that something bad is going to happen. I don't know what it is and the feeling is so small that I think I'd rather dismiss it than say anything. I continue to pack up my weapons for a few minutes while Peeta watches me. Peeta's always been good at reading my emotions and if I look him in the eye he might see the slight terror I feel. So I keep my eyes down until he gets up to leave. He offers to make breakfast and I accept. I hear him walk up the stairs and the basement door open and close. Now I'm left by myself. What could happen soon that makes me feel like this? Maybe, hopefully it's because of what happened last night. Some lingering hatred for that bitch that I would gladly annihilate. It's not like I wasn't a killer. Pretty much everybody that survived the war has killed at least once. We were a nation of killers. But the previous Capital had made us all that way, just like they'd made Peeta into a killer; he had just perfected the art.

I stood at the foot of the stairs, staring up at the door, wondering what I should do with the bag I had. I didn't feel safe leaving it in the house for some reason. In fact, I really wanted to go upstairs and gather all of our clothes and hide them away, somewhere outside of this house. I could kind of hear the house moaning with future pain. Maybe I was going crazy. I wasn't sure anymore.

I trek up the stairs and walk through the door into the kitchen. I smile brightly at my two handsome boys. I was so glad to have both of them. Peeta was the best boyfriend/lover/future husband in the world and even though I'd only known Gale for about a week I knew I could trust him with whatever I needed. I knew he would always stand by my side and I knew he would always stand by Peeta's side. Gale really was a good guy.

Peeta had his back to me cooking pancakes but Gale saw me as I walked out of the door with my heavy bag and jumped up to grab the heavy bag from me.

I let him take it and watched as he set it down gingerly in the hallway. He was always so careful with things, I think he had some idea of what was in it so he was being extra careful for which I was grateful for. On our way back to 12 the baggage handler roughly took the bag from me and tossed it aside. I almost went after him with the bowie knife I had tucked into my boot.

I sat down at the table with my coffee and waited patiently while Peeta finished cooking.

Gale's POV

Bells was acting strange. She wasn't cooking breakfast like she usually did first thing in the morning. Instead she was hiding out downstairs in the dark basement alone. When Peeta went to check on her I got up and made another pot of coffee. I hoped she was ok.

Peeta came upstairs, slightly agitated a few minutes later. "What's wrong Peeta?" I ask. I'm concerned. I've never seen that look on his face before and I've definitely never seen Bells act like this before.

"I don't know, she's down there cleaning weapons."

"What kind of weapon?"

Peeta laughed "Every kind."

"Why does she do that?"

"I don't really know. She's done it as long as I can remember. She's usually up before me every morning anyway but when she's not easily found she's usually hidden away somewhere cleaning those weapons."

"She got a story behind the weapons?" I ask.

"Yes, but I haven't asked. The way she cleans them suggests she knows how to use them. I'm sure you know what I mean about that. She'll tell me when she's ready."

"Oh," I say and suddenly the door to the basement opens and Peeta turns back to the stove before he burns the pancakes.

I see her not really struggle but handle a large bag with extra care, as she pulls it through the door and wobbles a little bit from the weight. I get up and take the bag from her and lay it gently down in the hallway.

She smiles at me and sits at the table, sips her coffee and waits patiently for pancakes.

We're all silent for several minutes.

"You OK Gale?" she asks.

I nod.

"Don't want to talk about it?" she asks again.

"Not really." I reply.

"Ok." She looks down at her coffee. She empties the rest of it into her mouth and gets up to get more. She quickly mixes her coffee and plucks a blueberry from where Peeta has washed and set them aside and pops it into her mouth. She leans against the counter and jokes with Peeta about when her damn breakfast is going to be done.

He playfully snaps at her telling her it'll be done when it's done and she pouts and throws herself back into her chair at the table.

I love watching the two of them together. They're best friends and lovers and you could really tell. They joked with each other and made fun of each other. They definitely loved each other. I hoped one day I'd have that in my life too.

Peeta signals to me and I get up, gather plates and silverware and napkins and set the table. When I come to her chair to set the plate down she sticks her tongue out at me and throws her napkin on the floor. I stick my tongue out right back at her and pick up the napkin and tuck it into her shirt. She looks down at the napkin and pouts.

Peeta brings a huge stack of pancakes to the table and distributes them.

"What's with the bag, Bella?" I ask while she stuffs her mouth with pancakes.

She takes her time chewing ever bit carefully but the way her eyes look I can tell she's thinking.

"I think we bury it."

"What do you mean bury it?" Peeta asks.

"I don't know. My instincts say to bury it. I have a bad feeling something is going to happen." Bella says.

"OK, where do you want to bury it?" I ask.

"Not around here. We have to put it where nobody is going to know it's there. Except, for us, of course. I think we're going to need it soon. You two are welcome to anything in that bag. Just give it back in the same condition." She says.

I pretended not to know what's in the bag.

"What's in there though? What's so important that it has to be hidden away?" I ask her.

"Weapons." She replied not bothering to look up. "I guess I should tell you two what all that is from…"

She explains everything in slow deliberate words. She explains about life in 11 before the first Games Peeta was in and explains how and when she started collecting the weapons. She tells us how she learned to use them and started teaching friends how to use them. After they lost Rue and Thresh in the Games more and more people sought her help to defend themselves. After breakfast she takes us into the living room to continue her story. She allows me to examine each weapon one by one as she tells us about when the Quell ended and the rebellion began she and a few of her strongest friends gathered all the children in 11 and managed to hold the house they were hiding out in. Not one child in their care died, even though she lost a lot of her own people during the good fight.

We sit silently for quite a while before Bells finally announces she's going to go wash up.

Bella goes upstairs and Peeta and I go into the kitchen and clean up. A short time later, Bella comes downstairs, looking clean and refreshed, and ties her hair back into a loose ponytail. She sits next to Peeta on the couch and he grips her hand. They're always beautiful together. I really appreciated them for everything. Especially Peeta. I hadn't always been a nice guy to him, Hell, I'd punched him right in the face as soon as he stepped off the train after the first Games but later that day he'd come to me and we spoke for the first time ever. He had laughed and told me he probably deserved it. It made me hate him slightly less.

I excused myself and went upstairs to shower, I had a big day ahead of me, one that was going to probably be very heart wrenching, because even though I hated Katniss at the moment, I still kind of loved her. I think I always knew it wouldn't be. No matter, I'm sure Bella had some gorgeous friends she could introduce me to.

Once in my room I examined the clothes that I had left. There was practically nothing, other than the clothes that I wore the night before Katniss had somehow found time to destroy everything I owned. It angered me. There was a knock on the door, and when I opened the door Peeta was standing there with a stack of clothes.

"We're the same size, these clothes should fit you." Peeta handed me the clothes.

"How'd you know?" I asked.

"Because, she did the same thing to mine," Peeta explained.

I looked at him solemnly, I didn't deserve a friend as great as Peeta but here he was, being the nicest guy ever. I thanked him. He merely nodded and left the room. I heard him take a few steps away, then I heard another knock on the door. I opened it once more.

"Listen, I'm going down to town for a little while. It's Bella's birthday and I wanted to bake a cake, would you like to come with me?"

"Sure," I say. I had no idea her birthday was so soon, I should definitely get her something.

Peeta nodded and left the room. I heard him pad down the stairs and open the front door. I showered quickly and dressed in some soft clean clothes. They also smelled like vanilla and I was really starting to truly enjoy the scent. It smelled like home.

I left my room, just in time to see Peeta carrying Bella up the stairs.

"She fell asleep on the couch." He stated.

I nodded and opened their bedroom door for him. He went inside and lightly draped her across the bed, he went into the closet and removed a thick woven blanket and covered her with it. I watched as he lovingly kissed her and left before she woke up.

On our way to town we joked about whatever. Soon we were done in town, both of us having several small gifts for Bella and Peeta had managed to get all the supplies needed for a chocolate birthday cake.

"Gale, I'm going to need a few hours to make the cake, would you mind taking her out for a while?" Peeta asked me.

"No, I don't mind, I really should go take care of the rest of my stuff at Katniss' house before I do anything else though." I answer.

"You're right, Bells will probably sleep for a little while longer, Go get your stuff, call me if you need me."

I nodded and left the room and went over to Katniss'. The guy she was with last night opened the door sheepishly and I pushed past him into the house. I went immediately to the small closet where I stored my boy and arrow, my hunting jacket and my few other belongings. I counted the money and was grateful when none was missing.

"I'm sorry," the guy said. "Katniss didn't tell me she was with someone."

"You can have her." I say back to this guy and turn around and left.

I practically ran to my mothers house to collect the rest of my belongings. I felt like the anger I was feeling would engulf me in flames if I spent one more second at Katniss' residence. My mother hardly had room for her younger kids much less me so I'd been depending on Katniss' home for shelter, so now that I actually had a room, plus a loving makeshift family I felt like I actually had a home for the first time in years. I wanted all my stuff with me. I headed back to my new home.

I burst through the door, just in time to see Peeta lifting Bella onto the counter and Bella's legs wrapping around his waist. He was cupping her face, kissing her as she pulled him hard against her.

I purposefully slammed the door hard behind me and they pulled apart.

"In the kitchen guys? Really?" I asked jokingly. Bella just smiled from her perch on the counter and Peeta turned slightly red.

"Sorry Dad," Bella said mockingly. "Won't happen again."

"It better not!" I punched Peeta in the arm good naturedly and he feigned pain. He rubbed his arm like a 5 year old.

"Gale, I just got word my sister is coming to town, I expect you to keep her company."

"Is she as pretty as you are?" I asked.

"She should be, we're twins," she states.


End file.
